Somerset County Council implements advanced highways management system

New system enables cost reductions and faster repairs, which eases traffic congestion

Somerset County Council has implemented a new advanced highways management system from software specialist Pitney Bowes Business Insight (PBBI).

The system is based on Confirm, PBBI's infrastructure asset maintenance and management system.

The solution is installed on the mobile phones of highway inspectors who relay information about highway defects to the highway contractor, Atkins.

The information is then relayed to work gangs via Atkins' Inform system, which interoperates with Confirm, and they can then be quickly assigned to the problem.

The new system has enabled 98 per cent of defects to be repaired within their target response time – a significant improvement on previous performance, according to PBBI.

The organisation adds that Confirm has also yielded cost savings, by replacing the slower paper-based reporting and work order process, allowing inspection teams to work faster and more efficiently.

"The end-to-end nature of the Confirm-based solution means that every maintenance job stays within the electronic system right up to completion," said Paul Winter, Confirm manager, environment directorate at Somerset County Council.